Photographic meanderings

Geology Hut, Glacier Point.

Sunset, Mono Lake, Sept 15th, 2009

I moved to Yosemite from Rhode Island. One of the things that I truly, truly miss is Autumn. Rainy days in Queechee Gorge Vermont are among my fondest memories–the colors are incredible against grey skies.

I left that behind and came to Yosemite 4 years ago. Each autumn since then I have fallen to into what Longfellow once described as “a feeling of sadness and longing, that is not akin to pain/And resembles sorrow only as the mist resembles rain”. I’m not sure if it’s helped or hurt that we have one sugar maple in Yosemite Valley; But when my eyes are aching for some New England color, I at least have that.

One photographer friend refuses to photograph it because it is not native. I find myself at a loss for comprehension; I cannot fathom why that should preclude photographing such amazing color and texture.

As lovely as that tree is, though, it’s meager compared to the memory of entire Vermont valleys which become lakes of light and color.

I will admit to making some rather tactless remarks regarding the colors of the aspens in the Sierra Nevada. I’ve promised that I would hold my sarcasm in check this year, and will continue to do so.

It was recently pointed out to me by my good friend Christine Loberg that what makes Autumn in the Sierra Nevada special isn’t the colors, it’s the light. She’s completely right. Joni Mitchell’s song “The Fallow Way” comes to mind; “The sun has slanted all her rays/Across a vast and harvest plain/My memories mingle in the dawn/I dream of joyful vagabonds”. Add to that slanting sunlight clouds finally gathering in a white-hot sky, towering thunderheads or creeping mists.

August sucks for photography in the Sierra–no flowers, dry streams, colors bleached bleak and barren by brutal light. September brings rains to wash away the coat of dust that covers everything, cool nights and gentle warm days. Colors revive, and while they aren’t the colors of Autumn in New England, they are a welcome sight.

I don’t know if I will ever share the exuberant joy my fellow west coast photogs feel over the aspens. But I’ll look forward to the slanting rays of Autumn from now on with joyful anticipation.

The Big Meadow Fire will continue to smolder and perhaps there will be a few visible flames until the first good rains of fall or winter, but at this point the greatest damage is done and the majority of the fire is out–for a given value of “out”.

Big Oak Flat road was the site of another fire in 1990; I’ve heard both “A-Rock Fire” and “Foresta fire” used to describe it. 19 years worth of new growth is utterly gone above the road. It is a barren, burned out wasteland. I have not had any firsthand experience with mudslides, but that hill worries me. In its denuded state, there is nothing holding what soil there is in place. There are large boulders exposed on the hillside above and below the road. Many of the old standing snags are gone.

Below the road isn’t much better. Skeletons of manzanita brush remain, and pine snags dot the slope. Boulders are strewn across the hillside like an improbable game of marbles played on a glacial scale. I keep thinking they should be rolling down hill, flicked forward from the knuckle of an ice giant. OK, enough with the bad metaphors.

There’s been a lot of comments from employees about the stupidity of setting a prescribed burn in August. There’s speculation that Mr. Uberuaga’s head will roll, that he will never hold another supervisor’s position, that this will end his career. Time will tell.

When asked if anyone will be held accountable, Mr. Uberuaga stated:

“In the National Park Service, prescribed fires plans are reviewed and approved by multiple individuals and then authorized by the Superintendent or his/her representative. Any escaped prescribed fire requires a review once the fire is extinguished. The review will include independent, knowledgeable fire professionals and will produce findings. Based upon those findings, the agency may take further actions including those that might affect responsible officials.”

(Source: “A Note From Yosemite’s Superintendent”, Inciweb)

I’ll be waiting for that report to be released, and will try to provide access to it here.

The NPS Fire Service has done one thing that really looks bad in my eyes. Within a few days a video of the start of the fire was posted to YouTube, but was taken down within a day. That smacks of suppression of information. Granted, I don’t know if the video was what it was purported to be–it could have been some schmuck trying to up his views by posting a bogus clip. On the other hand it might have been the genuine article, and it may have implicated the fire crew in some way. I don’t think we will ever know. The video is gone, and won’t be coming back, nor will we ever know who posted it nor why, nor what it contained.

One thing I have determined; The prescribed burn was intended to clear the Big Meadow, and the majority of the defined area is unburned. In an Incident Action Plan, drawn up prior to igniting the burn, is a rather poor satellite image of the area intended to burn, totaling 91 acres. It is the last page of the PDF. When compared to the Final Fire Perimeter Map, using “Old Coulterville Road” as verification, it’s clear that the meadow was not burned. Final verification are the images I have taken since the Big Oak Flat Road re-opened showing the golden grasses unscorched.

I’ll be visiting the Big Meadow burn areas through the winter and into spring to document the landscape and its recovery from the fire.

Thank you to the firefighters who stepped in to help contain the fire.

A Sikorsky Skycrane circles above Foresta on Sept 3, 2009.

The Big Oak Flat Road has opened, and affords some spectacular views of the Big Meadow fire damage. Early on Wednesday, 09/09/09 I passed through the burn area on my way to Vogelsang and snapped several shots of the damage. While This image doesn’t provide the scope or size, it conveys the sense of devastation.

Thanks to my sister Christine Loberg for offering critique and suggestions on the conversion to monochrome.

I could be WAY wrong on this, but wasn’t the whole point of the prescribed burn at Big Meadow supposed to, like, clear the meadow?

If so, then FAIL.

The Big Meadow Fire is 100% contained, with some spot fires burning within the containment perimeter. Big Oak Flat road between 140 and 120 is now open, and I’ve just returned from Crane Flat with some images to share. The fire truly devastated the hills surrounding Big Meadow.

As you drive up Big Oak Flat road, once you pass the third tunnel and make the right turn at the Foresta road turnoff, it’s obvious how bad it was; the devastation is heartbreaking.

Park at the trailhead for the Old Big Oak Flat trailhead, and look down–it will bring new meaning to “scorched earth policy”. Now that brush has been cleared, you’ll be able to see huge boulders dropped by glaciers 15,000 years ago. Smoke collects and creeps like fog, and spot fires twinkle in the gathering gloom.

I’ve lived in Yosemite for 4 years, and have been watching the return of vegetation return to the hill above Foresta each spring. It’s all gone now. It should be a remarkable spring, at least.

Just got back from White Wolf Camp. It’s ugly up there, folks. I took the long way there, out on 140 to Mariposa, North on Highway 49 to the bottom of Old Priest Grade. I stopped in Groveland at Mountain Sage, enjoyed a piece of Jack and Ortega Chili Quiche and iced coffee, and then onward to Crane Flat.

On the way out of Yosemite Valley, I stopped at the bottom of Big Oak Flat Road (still closed) and spoke with the ranger–they are working to have it opened as of Tuesday.

Once past Crane Flat, the Tuolumne Grove, and the Yosemite Institute campus you start seeing signs of the fire. It’s devastated. The worst of it is before the road to Tamarack Flat campground.

I couldn’t stop to take pictures because every single spot that could be used as a turnout is coned off. That’s a good thing because there are still hot spots right along the road.

Once you reach the saddle above Gin Flat, you can look south over an old burn area and see a column of smoke in front of what I would guess is the backside of the Devil’s Dance Floor.